Pokémon Day and Night: Balance of the Hours
by Twiddlesticks
Summary: Brock travels to the far off region of Koenu, where he hopes to find a rare herb. Instead, he meets a girl who's just rescued a strange pokémon from a mysterious man! The two band together to find out more about this pokémon, and why it's being hunted. They soon discover that they've stumbled upon a plot that may effect the entire world... and they must put a stop to it!
1. Act 1: Emerald Forest

**Hi there folks! This idea's been floating around in my head for some time. Not sure if it'll be completed, I have a lousy track record for completion... but anyway! This all takes place in the fictional Region of Koenu, a region of my own creation, filled with pokémon of my creation. Hopefully, it'll turn out to be entertaining! Please leave a review, if you can! I'll accept constructive criticism, of course, so's I can make the story better, if it needs it. **

**Blah blah blah, lets get on with the show!**

Twilight was just settling in on Emerald forest. Shadows pooled beneath the dense trees, creating eerie dark shapes amongst the bushes and ferns. A young man stood in a clearing, unrolling his sleeping bag for the evening.

He stood up from flattening out the water-proof material and went to check on his supplies. He lifted his water bottle and noticed its lightness. He remembered hearing a stream nearby, earlier. He retraced his steps until he heard the rush of water again, and made for it.

As he searched for the stream, Brock thought of the task he'd set himself, and the new region he'd come to. He'd heard the stories of a certain rare herb that grew in a deep, secluded corner of the Emerald forest in the distant Koenu region. Being an aspiring pokémon doctor and adventure enthusiast, he knew he just had to go in search of some.

He walked carefully through the leafy greenery, taking cautious steps. He'd nearly trodden on a strange pokémon earlier, and its parents –long-necked, beaked creatures– had not been happy.

As Brock neared the sound of running water, he also noticed other sounds. Nearby pokémon cries, and perhaps human shouts. He hesitated a little, unsure if he should continue on, but he had his pokémon in his belt. If anything appeared, he would be able to defend himself.

Brock finally reached the stream and went to the edge of it to collect his water. As he did so, there was a sudden cracking of twigs and running footsteps. Brock leapt to his feet just as a girl and her Wartortle burst out of the trees on the other side of the stream, followed by a Houndoom.

The girl was scratched and bruised and carrying a large white creature over her shoulders. Her pokémon didn't look any better than she did. It backed into the stream and seemed to draw strength from it, letting loose a torrent of bubbles from its mouth, which targeted the approaching Houndoom.

The girl began to cross the stream. Brock wondered if he should get involved with the drama unfolding in front of his eyes, unsure of what exactly was going on. But when a man clad in a dark uniform came out of the forest and commanded his Houndoom to attack the girl, Brock realized who's side he was on. He leapt into action.

"Croagunk, Chansey, I need your help!" cried Brock, flinging two poké balls into the air.

The two pokemon sprang from their balls and peered around, ready for action.

"Croagunk, help that Wartortle fight off that Houndoom!" said Brock. "Use poison-jab!"

Croagunk trotted off obediently. He approached the Wartortle and gave it a croak as it passed by. The Wartortle seemed to realize it was no longer alone, and it grinned and let loose another torrent of bubbles.

The girl was halfway across the stream by now. She turned and let out a rasping cry of "Don't give up!" to her Wartortle. The pokémon didn't need telling. It and Croagunk teamed up against the Houndoom, and were able to subdue it with a combination of poison-jab and bubble-beam. Its trainer roared with rage.

"You won't get away, punk!" he shouted, "Not with that thing!"

"Now, Chansey, go get rid of that guy!" said Brock, pointing to the irate man who was now heading after the girl. Chansey ran forwards, splashed into the stream and headed towards the man. Before the man could defend himself, Chansey picked him up, lifted him over her head, and tossed him back into the forest. The Houndoom got to its feet then, and, seeing its master flying away, yelped and skittered after him.

The girl was now safely on the bank of the stream. Her Wartortle gave a relieved "War…" and collapsed into the water with a splash. The girl collapsed also, fumbling in her bag for a poké ball and returning her fainted pokémon. Brock approached her anxiously, recalling his own pokémon.

"Are you alright?" he asked, kneeling down beside her. He now saw that the white creature she'd been carrying was just as injured as she was, perhaps more; both its hind legs stuck out at unnatural angles, and its eyes were closed in apparent pain.

The girl's breath was coming out in ragged gasps. She searched through her back, temporarily ignoring her rescuer, and withdrew an inhaler, which she took several sharp puffs on before looking at Brock.

"Thank you…" she wheezed, "You… saved… us… please… help this… hurt bad…"

She indicated the white pokémon, which twitched.

Brock called on his Chansey again, and the Egg pokémon began to fuss over the white pokemon. She picked it up in her arms and said "Chansey!" in a serious sort of way. She nodded to the way Brock had come, signifying she wanted to go back to the campsite. Brock agreed that this was a good idea. He grabbed his water bottle, then helped the girl up and led her through the forest, back to his campsite.

As they walked, Brock asked her a few questions, but she seemed to be unable to answer him yet. When they got to the forest clearing, she sat down hard and looked worriedly at the white pokemon and Brock's Chansey.

"Can your Chansey… can she help it?" she asked, her voice less constricted now.

"I think she can. She's never failed to help a pokémon yet." Brock replied. He sat down across from the girl and leaned towards her.

"What was going on back there?" he asked, "Who are you? Who was that man?"

"My name is Clau…" she began, slowly, "I'm just a regular pokémon trainer… I'd been training in this forest all day, and my pokémon were bushed… I was going to go to the pokémon centre in the next town, but along the way, I heard someone calling… someone calling for help…"

She looked worried, and she fidgeted a little before she continued.

"But… there wasn't a sound in the air… the sound was… inside my head…" she said, quietly.

"That's telepathy." said Brock, furrowing his brow.

"Yeah… it came to me in my head, a voice saying 'Help me!', and I followed the voice and found… and found that pokémon…" she said, pointing to the pokémon Chansey was watching over. "It couldn't run, I think its legs were hurt, and it was being chased by that man and his Houndoom. I just grabbed it an ran… Wartortle still had some fight left in him, he fought off the Houndoom as best he could, but, but he was so weak from earlier…" she paused. "Then you appeared out of nowhere and saved me… thank you so much… Who are you?"

"I'm sort of a traveling pokémon doctor." said Brock, pulling some bandages out of his bag, "My name's Brock. Here."

He handed Clau the bandages. She looked at them.

"What are these for..?" she said, perplexed.

"You're hurt." said Brock, raising one eyebrow. Clau looked at herself and blinked in surprise.

"Oh my gosh…" she said, "I guess the adrenaline just… oh wow."

She set to covering up the nastiest of her scratches with the bandages. After she was finished, she smiled at Brock and thanked him profusely. Then she went to check on the white pokémon.

"Chansey." said Chansey, holding out a stubby pink arm. Clau stopped and knelt a few feet away, respectfully. Chansey took an egg out of its pouch and poked it close to the white pokémon's mouth. At first, it turned up its nose at the egg, but with a little persistence, Chansey finally got it to eat.

Chansey stood back and sighed. "Chan…"

"Is that all you can do for it..?" asked Clau, anxiously.

Chansey nodded sadly. Clau looked at the white pokémon.

"Are…you alight?" she said.

"Of course not."

Brock flinched. An arrogant, petulant voice had just flashed through his brain.

"You don't have to say it like that!" he heard Clau saying, annoyed, "I'm going to get you to a pokémon centre and help you with your legs, but for now, I think you should thank this Chansey for her help!"

"Very well." said the white pokémon crossly. It turned its head to Chansey and made a soft croaky sound. Chansey smiled and nodded. Clau stood up and turned to Brock, then looked surprised at his expression.

"What's wrong?"

"I heard it too."

"So he's speaking to both of us!"

"I guess so…"

The two were silent for a few moments. Then Clau went to her bag and sat down. She laid her head on it and curled up a bit.

"I'm going to sleep, if thats alright…" she said, "I want to be rested so I can get to the pokémon centre as soon as possible tomorrow… my Wartortle…" she trailed off. Brock nodded and climbed into his own sleeping bag. He recalled Chansey to her ball and then looked over at the white pokémon. It opened one fiery yellow eye and glared at him.

"Would be so kind as to light a fire, human?" it asked, in his head. Brock dutifully got up again and gathered stones and twigs. He scraped a shallow hole in the earth, placed stones around it and packed in the extra earth. He dropped the sticks into the middle of this make-shift fire-place and then reached into his bag for a lighter to kindle the fire.

After all this was done, he curled back up in his sleeping bag.

"If that man comes back, won't he know we're here, because of the fire?" Brock whispered at the white pokémon. It scoffed, quietly,

"If he does…" it said, softly. It directed one of its bright yellow eyes at the fire, and for a moment, it blazed several times brighter than before and crackled menacingly. Brock took the hint and rolled over in his sleeping bag, marvelling. Just a half-hour ago, he'd simply been looking for a rare plant. Now he was part of some kind of adventure, just like the good old days!

As he drifted to sleep, he wondered, sleepily, where the morrow would take him.


	2. Act 1: History and Lunch

Brock awoke to the sound of a voice saying "Get awake, human!" imperiously in his mind. He sat up and was momentarily blinded by the light shining through the trees. Blinking furiously, he looked around and saw Clau a few feet away, doing the same.

He shuffled around in his sleeping bag and saw that the white pokémon was sitting up on its front paws. Its large yellow eyes were open and they seemed somehow even more brilliant in the light of day. In fact, all of it did. Its sleek, lizard-like body was covered in thousands upon thousands of tiny delicate white scales, which reflected the sunlight that hit them, creating a soft halo about its body, as if it were glowing. It was almost completely covered in these scales, except for a pale-yellow frill around its neck, and another at the end of its long thin tail.

The white pokémon stared at him haughtily.

"When you're finished staring," it said, into his mind, "get your things together and have that Chansey of yours carry me along with you. She is much more suited to transporting me than you are."

The last part of the statement seemed to be directed at Clau, who made a face. She was stretching and rubbing her neck, as if she'd slept on it badly. She yawned and lifted up her bag. Brock packed his things and then called out his Chansey to transport the white pokémon.

They began the trek out of the forest in silence. This gave Brock time to take in Clau's appearance. She had a thin, lanky sort of build, pale skin and long dark brown hair. Her features were thin as well, a thin face, thin nose, thin lips… but her eyes were extraordinary. Large, slightly protuberant and a startling electric blue.

He noticed that she seemed to be taking the measure of his appearance too. He raised an eyebrow at her. She realized he'd noticed and she gave an embarrassed chuckle.

"So, Mister Brock," she said, swinging her arms as she spoke, "Tell me about yourself! You only said you were a pokémon doctor yesterday."

"Well…" replied Brock, taking a moment to compose his thoughts, "I'm the eldest of ten children…"

"Ten!" said Clau, looking shocked.

"Yes!" said Brock, with a small chuckle, "They're a handful, but you couldn't wish for better siblings. I used to care for them while my parents were away… which was a lot. I was also the Gym Leader of Pewter city, so I had a lot to-"

"Wait!" cried Clau, stopping suddenly, "You were the Pewter Gym Leader?! But- Of course! Now I recognize you! Or at least, sort of– Your brother, Forrest, was the first Gym Leader I ever challenged!"

"So you've met Forrest!" said Brock, in cheerful surprise.

"Yeah!" said Clau, beginning to walk again, "He told me never to give up, even if things look impossible. In fact, I think he mentioned you, sort of…"

Clau shook her head, wonderingly. "Small world!"

"Yeah…" said Brock, "You said Forrest was the first Gym Leader you'd ever challenged… Do you come from Kanto?"

"Yes," replied Clau, "I come from Pallet town."

"My best friend is from there!" said Brock, "Ash Ketchum!"

"Ash Ketchum?!" said Clau in astonishment, "THE Ash Ketchum? The one everybody talks about, the Pride of Pallet?!"

"Sounds about right!" said Brock.

Clau let out a low whistle.

"Must be cool knowing the coolest trainer alive!"

"Pretty cool." agreed Brock, nodding.

"Where is he now?" asked Clau.

"I'm not sure, actually. We parted ways a while ago when he decided to head to Unova, and I decided to become a pokémon doctor."

"Oh." said Clau.

"So, what about you?" asked Brock, "I don't know anything about you!"

"What's to know?" said Clau, shrugging, "I lived with my parents and my brother Cameron. As you may have noticed earlier, I have some breathing issues. My parents were a bit overprotective of me, and they didn't let me go on a pokémon journey until I was nearly fourteen… But that's all behind me now! I love traveling! It's amazing! I've been to Johto and Hoenn, and I've beaten six gyms and entered a few contests too! Never won one of those, but I might as well keep trying. They're fun!"

"If your quite finished talking," came an annoyed voice, "I think we should stop to eat."

Brock and Clau turned to see the white pokémon looking cooly at them from atop Chansey.

"Now that you mention it," said Clau, "I am pretty hungry. I think I've got some trail-mix or something in my bag… I'd expected to be in town by now…"

"I can do a little better than trail mix." said Brock.

The group went in search of a small clearing where they could eat. When they'd found a suitable one, Brock unpacked his cooking supplies and started making a stew. Clau watched him with interest.

When the stew was done, Brock took a few cans of pokémon food out of his bag. So did Clau. She looked at her poké balls anxiously.

"I hope they'll be up for eating…" she said, releasing her pokémon one by one.

She had five in total. Wartortle exited his ball with a flop, and stood wearily. When he smelled food however, he seemed to perk up a little. After him came a Beedrill, a Pidgeot, an Arcanine and a Tropius, all in varying states of exhaustion. They were all glad of the food though.

Brock released his Croagunk and Sudowoodo, and they all had a very nice lunch.

"We're stopping by a pokémon centre next," Clau told her pokémon reassuringly, "so you'll all be ship-shape in no time!"

Her pokémon made noises of approval, and continued to eat. The white pokémon was rather picky, but it seemed to like Brock's pokémon food in the end, even if it didn't let on.

When lunch was over, the group began to walk again. Brock and Clau chatted about Kanto and the other regions. Brock told Clau of his journeys in Sinnoh, and in turn, Clau told him stories her brother used to tell her when she was small, about the world outside of Pallet town.

They were so caught up in talking that they hardly noticed the forest thinning out into a dirt path. They did, however, notice when they reached a cliff, which overlooked a beautiful seaside town.

"Flaxen port!" said Clau. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

There was a sign on the cliff pointing to a winding footpath that would take them into the town.

"I'd say 'race ya', but it'd probably kill me." joked Clau, heading towards the path.

When they reached the bottom, the first building they saw was the Flaxen port Pokémon Centre.

"Finally!" said Brock.

"Indeed." said the white pokémon. "Well, don't dilly-dally! My legs need to be seen to!"

**I'd like to thank the reviewer of the previous chapter. Thank you! To the rest of you, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned! -TS**


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